Always Remembered (24 page)

It was weird to talk about this. Sure, we
were no longer together, but I wasn’t ready to swap date stories
either.

“A while,” he answered with a shrug. “She’s
really helped me since I’ve been here.”

I bet she has.
The nasty words floated
through my head before I could suppress them. Good thing I was
shielding. Still, changing the subject might be good. “You’ve been
doing okay, then? I was worried about you.”

“I know.” He patted my hand, and it was only
a little awkward. I didn’t feel any sparks like I used to. In some
ways, that made me sad. I cared for Evan, but it was no longer the
same.

He must have felt something similar, because
he smiled at me, but his eyes were filled with remorse. “I’ve been
okay, but Ken…” He paused and straightened. “Meara, Ken is up to no
good.”

Deanna and Kieran came back with the drinks.
She gave Evan a blue bottle—maybe it was a beer?—and settled into
his lap, leaning back comfortably against his chest.

Kieran handed me the cold can of soda and sat
next to me. He put his arm around my shoulder. I guessed we were
staking territories now. As a hum grew in my chest from his
closeness, I realized that I didn’t mind. He could claim me all he
wanted.

“You were about to dish on Ken?” Kieran
gestured with his drink. “What’s that blue bastard been up to? I
haven’t seen him since he poisoned me.”

I choked on my drink, the carbonation causing
my eyes to water. Deanna’s mouth opened in shock, and she turned to
Evan, who shifted uncomfortably.

“Yeah… um… sorry about that, man.” Evan’s
face turned a deeper shade of blue. “I didn’t know.”

“It’s poison under the bridge,” Kieran
quipped, which made me jab him in the ribs for the cheesy response.
He grinned and winked before turning his attention back to Evan.
“Please continue.”

Evan told us about the work he’d been doing
at the mantle plum with Ken. When he said Ken’s goal was to destroy
our island, my heart stopped. How could we prevent massive
destruction on that large of a scale? Months of training and for
what? We were doomed.

“You said you’ve been fighting him. How?”
Ever the optimist, Kieran latched onto the one positive piece of
news in Evan’s update.

“I’ve—” Evan started to tell us, but Deanna
squeezed his knee and stopped him.

“Not now.”

She jumped off his lap and hurried over to
open the door. Vesh and his friends stood in the hall, arms laden
with pizza boxes and carryout bags. She let them in and locked the
door behind them.

“Food’s here!” she announced in a voice that
was too bright, not to mention, unnecessary, since we could both
see and smell the food.

I watched her the entire time Evan was
talking. The more he said, the more uncomfortable she appeared. She
was nervous, but why? Was it Vesh or was it us?

“Hey, seal girl.” Vesh held up an open pizza
box. He already had a slice in his hand. “You hungry?”

“It’s Meara.” My response was automatic and a
little scolding. He laughed. I took a slice from the box and bit
in. It tasted different from pizza back home, but it wasn’t bad.
Who was I kidding? I was starved. They could’ve handed me a cold
can of sardines and I would’ve wolfed it down like a greasy
cheeseburger.

In between bites, I told them about
Azuria.

Looking stunned, Vesh asked, “Why you? Why
did she choose to talk to you after all of these centuries of
silence?” He turned to his brothers. “Why not one of us?”

I wasn’t sure whether to be offended or feel
special that she chose me. In the end, I dropped it. It didn’t
really matter. The point was, she did choose me, whether they
agreed with it or not. Then, I thought about what Vesh said.

“Centuries?” I asked, thinking I heard him
wrong.

“Yes, centuries.” He sounded bitter. “As in
hundreds of years.”

“Thanks, Einstein.” Kieran was quick to jump
to my defense. “We know what a century is.”

I ignored the jab and tried to wrap my head
around that much time. I was eighteen years old, and the Blue Men
were at least hundreds of years old. Kieran, I knew, was much older
than I was. How old was Deanna? She didn’t seem surprised that they
were talking about century’s worth of time. Like me, Evan seemed to
struggle with it. Of course, we were the only two recent humans in
the room. At least we still had that in common.

“She told you Evan was the key?” Slate
glanced at Evan, a skeptical expression on his face. “Did she say
how?”

I shook my head. I’d told them all I knew. In
the end, the only thing my experience with Azuria really managed to
do was clear up the misconception of how she died.

“What’s your plan?” Slate asked, and everyone
in the room looked at him. It was the first thing he’d said since
they’d captured us.

“I need to rescue my dad,” I said without
hesitation.

“Ah, your dad is one of the Selkies that Ken
caught?” I could see the sympathy in Vesh’s eyes, and my hope rose.
With their help, we had a chance at succeeding. Kieran and I alone?
Not so much.

“Yes. My aunt is there, too.”

“And the others? Do you know them?” Slate
leaned forward, his interest piqued.

“I know them all,” I said. “The others are my
father’s guard.”

Slate commented under his breath, “He should
have better guards. If those are his best, you don’t stand a chance
against Ken.”

Kieran shot him an angry glare. Vesh and Evan
had almost matching expressions. I raised my hand to cut through
the testosterone. “Look. Slate is right.” I looked around the room,
and then shrugged. “Selkies are not fighters. By nature, we are
peaceful. It doesn’t mean that I’ll allow Ken to slaughter us.” I
stood and met each of their gazes. “So, will you help? If not,
thank you for the meal, but Kieran and I must be on our way.”

Kieran stood and put his arm around me. Vesh,
who was closest to Kieran, also stood, placing his hand on Kieran’s
chest as if to stop him from leaving. Kieran looked down at Vesh’s
hand and up again. “If you like that hand, you’ll remove it.”

“Calm down, big guy.” Vesh patted Kieran once
before dropping his hand and turning his attention to me. “You,
too, Meara. Who said we weren’t going to help you?”

I opened my mouth, and then closed it again.
I probably looked like a fish. Vesh smiled at me and gestured to
the couch. “Sit, please. We need to plan and quickly.”

After we sat down again, Vesh took charge as
if calling a meeting to order. “If we’re not gone before dawn, Ken
will have Evan back at work and we won’t be able to leave until
nighttime. And, that gives them the opportunity to move the plume
that much further.” He gave Evan an apologetic smile. Evan shrugged
in response. “I say we leave in one hour. All in favor?”

Everyone made consenting sounds, except
Deanna. She was staring at her hands.

“Dee?” Evan covered her hands with one of his
and lifted her chin. Her eyes shimmered with unshed tears.

“I’ll stay here. Someone needs to keep an eye
on Ken.”

Evan grasped her shoulders and stared at her
intently. “It’s not safe. If he finds out, he’ll come after
you.”

She placed her arms around his neck and gave
him a look full of love. For a brief moment, jealousy bore its way
into my heart. Then I glanced at Kieran, who blew me a kiss and
made me forget all about Evan.

“I’ll be fine, Evan. You know I will.”
Determination filled Deanna’s eyes. “Let me do this for you.” She
looked around, capturing us all in her sights. “For all of
you.”

“Wait! I have something.” I turned and
wrapped my arms around Kieran’s neck.

“I think I like where this is going,” he
teased. Vesh snickered and my face flamed, but I focused on my
task, smiling when I held up the gold chain.

“Remember these?” I said to Evan. I hooked my
thumb under the thin chain around my own neck and lifted the pearl
charm. “We brought the set just in case, although Kieran and I
don’t need it. Why don’t you see if they work for you and
Deanna?”

Evan smiled one of those smiles that brought
out his dimples, which managed to look cute on his face even in his
blue form. For a moment, I remembered what it was like, when he
smiled like that all the time, his face filled with love and
devotion. That look now belonged to someone else. I unclasped my
necklace and handed both to him. He clasped the pearl pendant
around Deanna’s neck, and the thicker gold chain around his own. I
hoped that they experienced more luck and success with them than
Evan and I had.

We don’t need jewelry to communicate.
Deanna’s soft voice, a
mixture of annoyed and amused, drifted though Evan’s head.

Not here,
Evan agreed, trying to
placate her. She sounded a little offended.
We haven’t tested
how far apart we can be before we can’t hear each other. I know
that these necklaces work from long distances.

You used them with her.
Deanna’s
bottom lip puckered.

Her pout made him want to smile, but wisely,
he kept a straight face.
I did, which is how I know they
work.

It could be a trap,
Deanna
persisted.

It’s not,
Evan replied confidently.
Meara would never hurt him.

You trust her implicitly? That’s
dangerous.
Still, she let Evan fasten the necklace around her
neck. It looked beautiful against her delicate collarbone.

“Don’t let Ken see it,” Meara warned. “He
asked Evan about the necklaces in the past. He might recognize
it.”

“Good point.” Evan gave Meara a small
nod.

Vesh clapped his hands together loudly. “Now
that that’s all settled, should we figure out our plan? We’re
wasting time here.”

True to his word, Vesh kept them on schedule.
By the end of the hour, they had a plan and they were ready to head
out. As ready as they could be.

Evan was relieved that Vesh, Dex, and Slate
were coming with them. He would’ve helped Meara no matter what, but
there was no incentive for the other Blue Men besides a mutual
disagreement with Ken and his quest for revenge. It didn’t matter
the reason. The fact that they were helping was enough for Evan.
They’d been to Azuria and lived there for centuries. If anyone
could get them in, rescue the Selkies, and escape unnoticed, it was
these three.

We can trust Vesh, right?
Evan asked
Deanna. That was his greatest fear. Would Vesh betray them? How
trustworthy were his companions?

You can trust them.
Deanna’s voice was
tender, but certain.
They will not betray you.

“We’ve got a long swim ahead of us.” Vesh
stood and stretched. “We’d best be on our way.” He turned to Meara
and his expression softened. Evan ignored the twinge of jealousy.
She already won over Vesh, if not the others. She was likeable,
even more so in this new, stronger version of herself. Too bad Evan
knew she was also extremely kissable, too kissable for her own
good.

“What?” Meara asked when she caught him
staring.

He shook his head and looked away. Deanna’s
hand found his thigh and squeezed.
You still have feelings for
her, don’t you?
She didn’t sound upset. If anything, her voice
was filled with sympathy.

A part of me always will,
he answered
after a moment. He covered Deanna’s hand with his own.
But Meara
and I?
We’re different now. She has Kieran, and what I have
with you makes what I feel for her pale in comparison.

It was weird talking to his new girlfriend
about his old girlfriend, but strangely therapeutic, too. Deanna
rested her head on his shoulder.
I understand. Be safe, Evan.
I’ll miss you.

I’ll miss you, too.
He lowered his
head and kissed her, lingering a little longer than necessary to
show her how much she meant to him.

“Are you two almost done sucking face?”
Kieran said. Evan held back a surge of anger. He wanted to punch
the guy every time he opened his mouth. Would Meara really be
upset? Kieran freaking deserved it for being annoying as hell. Evan
would be doing Meara a favor if he took Kieran out, saving her from
the pompous ass.

Before Evan could growl a response, Vesh
stopped him. “Kieran’s right. We need to go.” Once again, Vesh
looked at Meara. “We’ll take our true form. We can swim faster that
way.”

She shrugged. “Fine by me. We’re going to
change, too.”

“I’ll keep an eye on Ken,” Deanna said and
stood. “I can tell him that Evan is sick and buy you a day. It will
only work once. Be safe, all of you.”

Blowing a kiss to Evan, she slipped out of
the room. Vesh straightened and moved to the door. He motioned for
the others to line up behind him. “Follow closely and quietly. I’ll
get us out of here, but we have to move fast.”